Many were shocked when the Cleveland Browns used such a high draft choice on wide receiver Josh Gordon in this year's supplemental draft, but he's proving the doubters were wrong, and the believers were right.
Browns GM Tom Heckert made a really bold move, giving up one of his team's premiere draft choices for a guy who was kicked off of his college team just two years ago, and then spending an entire year out of football all together.
So what does Gordon bring to the table? Well, if you saw the game yesterday, you know that the 6'3" 225 pound rookie is a big kid, but he's also extremely fast for his size and is a matchup nightmare if he's put in the right place offensively. Working the outside, he's still a little raw. When he is working the slot, he's almost uncoverable for linebackers and safeties.
In the last two games, Gordon has caught just five passes, but three of them have gone for huge touchdowns. His 71 yard touchdown reception in Sunday's win against the Bengals was the follow up performance to a game against the Giants where he had touchdown receptions of 62 and 20 yards in a loss.
Maybe even most impressively, Gordon was able to make this happen without Travis Benjamin or Mohammed Massaquoi on the field for the Browns, giving the opposing defense less options to focus in on. It's hard to tell if he can continue this type of success, but the good things for the Browns is that the major part of their offense that has been successful for them this year is the big play, and Gordon is a huge part of those plans.
Even after a year out of football, it looks like Josh Gordon is slowly starting to 'get it' and he could be a huge pickup for the Browns for the present as well as the future.